It was pretty sad to leave our campsite on the Mediterranean Spanish coast. But, it was time to move on. We had a long 700km drive ahead of us on the A9.
Thinking back, we had a really great time in Spain! This was the first time I’d been to Spain (except for in the Pyrenees) and it really was a very cool experience. We explored Roman ruins in Tarragona and went for a crazy hike up Montserrat that ended with a thunderstorm (luckily we could get the cable car back down the mountain!). With aching feet, we bussed around Barcelona, but missed out on the Sagrada Familia. We sampled loads of great local produce, beer and patatas bravas and chilled out on the beach.
Our next stop was all the way in the east of France, a little campsite near the Gorges of Verdon. I have no idea why we decided to do such a long drive in one day but we ended up being rewarded with a scenic drive. Along the French coast, we could see the Med. Poppies and olive groves started to dot the area in-between.
For a little break, we stopped over in Perpignan to have a quick look at the city. This French town also has a Catalan name: Perpinyà! Characteristic of the area, the vegetation that grows here likes hot, dry weather. Think of cactuses, dry grasses and cypresses. You’ll also notice from the photos below that the church steeples are made of a kind of iron frame. Apparently, this is because there are strong winds in the south of France that might blow regular steeples right over.
If you find yourself in Perpignan, I recommend stopping over just to see the main city door known as Le Castillet. It was built in the 14th century was was previously used as a prison. It is the only part of the city walls that still exists today.
